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Guideline |
Gateway |
HTML Techniques |
CSS |
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Guideline 3.1 |
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3.1.2
Unambiguous
decoding:
Ensure that all characters and words in the
content can be unambiguously decoded. Editorial Note: This
has been carried over from WCAG 1.0. I (Tom) am slightly unsure as to the
meaning or need implied by this technique. |
10.10
Emoticons
Task:
Use emoticons and other ASCII symbols
judiciously. |
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3.1.3 Spell
and grammar checks Task:
Use spelling and grammar checkers. A person reading a page with a speech synthesizer may not be able to
decipher the synthesizer's best guess for a word with a spelling error.
Grammar checkers will help to ensure that the textual content of your page is
correct. This will help readers for whom your document is not written in
their native tongue, or people who are just learning the language of the
document. Thus, you will help increase the comprehension of your page. |
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Level 1
Success Criteria: |
1.
The natural language of the document
as a whole can be identified by automated tools. [I] |
3.1.1 Language Task:
Ensure that the language of content can be
programmatically determined. Where the technology support it ensure that all content is provided with
a primary language, specified with an international language code specified
in the document. When a change of language occurs make a note of the change
of language with a mechanism provided by the technology. Often in languages
include 'borrowed' words. For example English takes the phrase 'laissez
faire' from the French, however it has been almost naturalized into the
language. Many authors would choose not to mark this as a change of language
because it has been naturalized, however screen readers and audio browsers
are not capable of pronouncing this correctly without the language change
being noted. 'Laissez faire' is pronounced "lay-sez fair" however a
screen reader might pronounce it "la-is-sez fair-ee" because it is
trying to apply English grammar rules to the word. This will not be true of
all borrowed words but authors should be aware of the issue and try to ensure
that phrases which may be mispronounced by assistive technology are marked up
as a change in language. Editorial Note: Add
a reference to the language codes. It is imperative however that
any significant changes in language of a document are marked up. If a
document contains several primary languages, it should be marked with the
primary language as that with the most content and the rest declared
individually in blocks. |
4.1
Identifying the primary language Task:
Use the |
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Level 1 Success Criteria: |
2.
The meaning of abbreviations and
acronyms can be programmatically located. [I] |
3.1.4 Abbreviations
and acronyms Task:
Ensure that the definition of abbreviations
and acronyms can be unambiguously determined. Editorial Note: References
to dictionaries, and site wide glossary definitions. Perhaps use the w3.org
as an example. |
Task:
Use the Task:
Use the 2.4
Glossary
Task:
Provide
a reference to a glossary |
3.6
Access to alternative representations of content
Task:
Provide alternative presentations of
attribute values (optional) |
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Level 2 Success Criteria |
1.
Page titles are informative. [V] |
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2.1
The title element.
Task:
Use the |
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Level 2 Success Criteria |
2.
The meanings and pronunciations of
all words in the content can be programmatically located. [I] |
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Task:
Use the 10.10
Emoticons
Task:
Use emoticons and other ASCII symbols
judiciously. 2.4
Glossary
Task:
Provide
a reference to a glossary |
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Level
2 Success Criteria |
3.
The meaning of all idioms in the
content can be programmatically determined. [I] |
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Task:
Use
the 2.4
Glossary
Task:
Provide
a reference to a glossary |
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Level
2 Success Criteria |
4.
For each foreign language passage or
phrase in the body of the content, the language is identified through markup
or other means. Foreign passages or phrases are passages or phrases that are
in a language other than the primary language of the document. [I] |
3.1.1 Language Task:
Ensure that the language of content can be
programmatically determined. Where the technology support it ensure that all content is provided with
a primary language, specified with an international language code specified
in the document. When a change of language occurs make a note of the change
of language with a mechanism provided by the technology. Often in languages
include 'borrowed' words. For example English takes the phrase 'laissez
faire' from the French, however it has been almost naturalized into the
language. Many authors would choose not to mark this as a change of language
because it has been naturalized, however screen readers and audio browsers
are not capable of pronouncing this correctly without the language change
being noted. 'Laissez faire' is pronounced "lay-sez fair" however a
screen reader might pronounce it "la-is-sez fair-ee" because it is
trying to apply English grammar rules to the word. This will not be true of
all borrowed words but authors should be aware of the issue and try to ensure
that phrases which may be mispronounced by assistive technology are marked up
as a change in language. Editorial Note: Add
a reference to the language codes. It is imperative however that any significant changes in language of a
document are marked up. If a document contains several primary languages, it
should be marked with the primary language as that with the most content and
the rest declared individually in blocks. |
4.2
Identifying changes in language Task:
Use the |
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Level
3 Success Criteria |
1.
The meaning of contracted words can
be programmatically determined. [I] |
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1.2
Supplemental meaning cues
Task:
Use the |
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2.
Where a word has multiple meanings
and the intended meaning is not the first in the associated dictionary(s),
then additional markup or another mechanism is provided for determining the
correct meaning. [I] |
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1.2
Supplemental meaning cues
Task:
Use the |
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3.
Section headings and link text are
understandable when read by themselves as a group (for example, in a screen
reader's list of links or a table of contents). [V] |
3.1.6 Link
text Task:
Use link text to describe your target page
as clearly as possible. Good link text should not be
overly general; don't use "click here." Not only is this phrase
device-dependent (it implies a pointing device) it says nothing about what is
to be found if the link if followed. Instead of "click here", link
text should indicate the nature of the link target, as in "more
information about sea lions" or "text-only version of this
page". Note that for the latter case (and other format- or
language-specific documents), content developers are encouraged to use content negotiation instead, so
that users who prefer text versions will have them served automatically. 3.1.7 Duplicate
link text Task:
Do not use the same link phrase more than
once when the links point to different URLs. If more than one link on a page shares the same link text, all those
links should point to the same resource. Such consistency will help page
design as well as accessibility. If two or more links refer to different targets but share the same link
text, distinguish the links by specifying a different value for the "title"
attribute of each A
element. |
9.1
Supplement link text with the title attribute.
Task:
Where appropriate, use the 9.4
Link Groups
Task:
Group links structurally and identify the
group with the |
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4.
There is a statement associated with
the content asserting that the Strategies for Reducing the Complexity of
Content (the following list) were considered. [V] |
3.1.5 Writing
style Task: Ensure that the content writing is simple
and well organized. Editorial Note: This
is covered much more in-depth by the guidelines. It is unsure where this
content should be. It is also very English centric. It should be discussed
with the main group where this is to go and if it is merely going to refer to
a techniques document for each language or whether it will be adapted during
translation. The following writing style suggestions should help make the content of
your site easier to read for everyone, especially people with reading and/or
cognitive disabilities. Several guides (including [HACKER])
discuss these and other writing style issues in more detail. 1.
Strive
for clear and accurate headings and link descriptions. This includes using
link phrases that are terse and that make sense when read out of context or
as part of a series of links (Some users browse by jumping from link to link
and listening only to link text.) Use informative headings so that users can
scan a page quickly for information rather than reading it in detail. 2.
State
the topic of the sentence or paragraph at the beginning of the sentence or
paragraph (this is called "front-loading"). This will help both
people who are skimming visually, but also people who use speech
synthesizers. "Skimming" with speech currently means that the user
jumps from heading to heading, or paragraph to paragraph and listens to just
enough words to determine whether the current chunk of information (heading,
paragraph, link, etc.) interests them. If the main idea of the paragraph is
in the middle or at the end, speech users may have to listen to most of the
document before finding what they want. Depending on what the user is looking
for and how much they know about the topic, search features may also help
users locate content more quickly. 3.
Limit
each paragraph to one main idea. 4.
Avoid
slang, jargon, and specialized meanings of familiar words, unless defined
within your document. 5.
Favor
words that are commonly used. For example, use "begin" rather than
"commence" or use "try" rather than "endeavor."
6.
Use
active rather than passive verbs. 7.
Avoid
complex sentence structures. To help determine whether your document is easy to read, consider using
the Gunning-Fog reading measure (described in[SPOOL]
with examples and the algorithm online at [TECHHEAD]).
This algorithm generally produces a lower score when content is easier to
read. As example results, the Bible, Shakespeare, Mark Twain, and TV Guide
all have Fog indexes of about 6. Time, Newsweek, and the Wall St. Journal an
average Fog index of about 11. |
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Guideline
3.1 (meaning) Issues
·
Phrases from various languages are often
interspersed in writing. When these phrases are identified, a speech synthesizer
can voice text with the appropriate accent and pronunciation. When they are not
identified, the speech synthesizer will use the default accent and
pronunciation of the language on the rest of the content, which can make the
phrase unintelligible. Identifying changes in language will also allow a tool
to ask for automatic translations of that content. When editing content,
authoring tools can switch between appropriate spelling dictionaries.
·
Providing the expansion of abbreviations and
acronyms not only helps people who are not familiar with the abbreviation or
acronym but can clarify which meaning of an abbreviation or acronym is
appropriate to use. For example, the acronym "ADA" stands for both
the American with Disabilities Act as well as the American Dental Association.
·
Defining key terms and specialized language
will help people who are not familiar with the topic.
·
Facilitating unambiguous decoding of
characters and words in content is also helpful for individuals who are
learning to read or learning a second language.
·
All users, especially those with cognitive, learning, and/or reading disabilities benefit from the
use of clear and simple writing. This should not discourage you from expressing
complex or technical ideas.
·
Using clear and simple language also benefits
people whose first language differs from your own, including those people who
communicate primarily in sign language.
·
Sounds, graphics, videos and animations can
help make concepts presented in a Web site easier to understand, especially for
people with cognitive,
reading, or learning disabilities
or those who are unfamiliar with the language of the text of the site.
·
Summarizing information that is difficult to
understand helps people who do not read well.
·
Providing a summary of the visual cues that
show relationships between complex information helps people who do not use
visual cues or who have difficulty using visual cues. For example, people who
are completely blind do
not use any visual cues, while people with dyslexia or with low
vision might have difficulty interpreting visual cues.
Note:
Designers need to be cautious in deciding
when to use illustrations. Reading a picture is probably a learned activity
that is easier for some than others. Some users skip the pictures; others read
only the pictures. Designers must also recognize that visual conventions are
not universal and that individuals develop their own mental schema and expectations
in interpreting visual information